Fré Ilgen

Shaping Presence

February 2 – 25, 2012

About This Exhibition

Sundaram Tagore Gallery is pleased to present Shaping Presence, an exhibition of abstract metal and wood sculpture and works on paper by Berlin-based Dutch artist Fré Ilgen.

Shaping Presence introduces the latest developments in Ilgen’s work, which are the result of the artist’s intense interest in the mechanics of the creative process. Ilgen has delved into the realm of neuroscience in order to learn more about creativity, in particular the conscious decision-making and the unconscious reflexes—motions learned by the body through long repetition—that form artistic expression.

With his sculpture, the artist aims to challenge viewers’ visual memory and encourage them to think about visual perception. Many of his sculptures are based on the complex movements of his own arms and hands that are part of the fabrication process. He uses concrete and wood in combination with stainless steel and industrial paint to create free-standing sculpture, wall constructions, and mobiles that vary in size from modest to monumental.

Working on paper is for Ilgen, as for many other artists, a useful method to prepare for working in other media. But for Ilgen, working on paper is also a type of physical training that prepares the body to respond by reflex when elaborating similar subjects in other media.

Fré Ilgen is a unique figure in the world of contemporary art. He is not only a sculptor and a painter, but also a theorist and curator. Ilgen lives and works in Berlin. His work is exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, South America, Russia, Asia, and Australia. He has created many site-specific pieces for private, corporate, and public collections in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, and the United States. Ilgen’s work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Hünfeld, Germany; NOKIA, Dallas, Texas; and the Merzbacher Collection, Zug, Switzerland.